“State pursuing development at expense of local communities”

Politicians of the ruling party are treated as VIPs in a public hearing for a coastal thermal power project in Nagapattinam; waterbodies are filled with garbage first and turned into plots later in Dindigul; forest lands along the Western Ghats are acquired despite the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers Act, 2006.

These are some of the ways in which the State pursues development at the expense of the rights of local communities and the environment, say activists worried by the trend.

According to them, the State acquires private land in the name of public purpose, at times even without consent by paying minimum compensation after years, and reserves all rights over the common land, belonging to local communities, stamping its sovereignty over its very own people, mostly the poor.

A group of select activists from across the State with experiences in protecting land, common resources and environment were asked to follow up on projects displacing and destroying the livelihoods of people or endangering the environment and “fight till the end.”

“The State keeps on acquiring through its agencies like SIPCOT or SIDCO and invariably it's the land of the poor people. The worst affected are urban poor, fishermen and Dalits with no land pattas whose livelihood patterns change,” says Ossie Fernandes, director, Human Rights Advocacy and Research Foundation (HRF).

“The State is not the owner of common land. It is the land of the people. But the State has developed this attitude that it can do as it pleased,” said P. Selvi, advocate, Madras High Court.

Cases could be filed under various sections of the IPC like 268 (public nuisance), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 277 (fouling water of public spring or reservoir), 278 (making atmosphere noxious to health) and a few others, said Jesurethinam, convenor, Coastal Action Network (CAN).

M. Jeeva, director, Society for Integrated Rural Development (SIRD), said the best possible way to fight the SEZs was to fight for compensation which would postpone acquisition.